Duskblade: Is arcane disciple worth it?

[Kafana]

I've been reading the boards and I can't find any concrete suggestion. First of all, is it worth it? I see people recommending it, but when it comes to the actual choice of domain nobody is certain which is best.

I've heard suggestions for strength, war and celerity. Any thoughts?

P.S. Do you only get the domain spells or the domain power as well?

[KingAtomsk]

I've been reading the boards and I can't find any concrete suggestion. First of all, is it worth it? I see people recommending it, but when it comes to the actual choice of domain nobody is certain which is best.

I've heard suggestions for strength, war and celerity. Any thoughts?

P.S. Do you only get the domain spells or the domain power as well?

You add the spells on the domain list to the spell list of a class in which you have levels. If the class learns new spells each level, you can choose to learn the spells on the domain list. Duskblade must choose which spells to learn at each level, so would not immediately gain access to all the domain spells. You also have to use your Wisdom modifier to determine the save DCs for those spells, and to determine whether or not you are able to cast them.

You do not gain the domain granted power.

Without knowing what build or character ideas you're working with, it's impossible to say whether it is worthwile to take the feat, or which domain you should select. If you're trying to get access to good gish spells that aren't already on your spell list, the Competition domain has some excellent self-buffs like Divine Power and Righteous Might.

[Kafana]

Without knowing what build or character ideas you're working with, it's impossible to say whether it is worthwile to take the feat, or which domain you should select. If you're trying to get access to good gish spells that aren't already on your spell list, the Competition domain has some excellent self-buffs like Divine Power and Righteous Might.

Hmmm, seeing as how I'm already limited in the amount of spells I can learn I'm not sure if I should take this.

Anyway, I'm thinking about taking obtain and improved familiar to get a hippogriff (mostly for roleplay and utility, but please tell me if there's something wrong with my idea mechanically). I also took power attack. Now, I'm not sure if I should go with a guisarme and improved trip for the fun of it? As for my stats, I have 15 at dexterity and 11 in wisdom, but I could switch those around if I go with arcane disciple. My priority is a high damage gish, while still having some versatility.

I'm human and I can take up to two flaws, but arcane strike can only be taken at level 9, so I have a lot of free feat slots. I'm not sure if I should invest in a spiked chain?

[avr]

I could be wrong but hippogriff doesn't sound like a valid familiar. An animal companion maybe.

Leap Attack and Shock Trooper (requires Improved Bull Rush) are the standard high damage feats.

What sort of versatility do you want? Any number of things could offer versatility of some sort, you need to define what you mean here.

[Rebel7284]

It's very difficult to truly be versatile as a pure duskblade. The spell list was not designed for this.

Some ideas:
Dip Sand Shaper (http://dndtools.eu/classes/sand-shaper/) 1 to add a bunch of spells to your list.
Dip Chameleon (http://dndtools.eu/classes/chameleon/) 2 (or more) for a floating feat that you can use to either Extra Spell if you need that, or any other feat you need for the day. In addition, you get utility spells from ALL spell lists.

[dysprosium]

Hippogriff as an improved familiar comes out of Complete Warrior.

As for Arcane Disciple, the Strength domain has enlarge person and righteous might. War has divine power and flame strike. Celerity has haste and wind walk. Celerity is a usual choice for Duskblades who want to go into Swiftblade.

The Competition domain as mentioned is the only one that has both divine power and righteous might.

Another (potential) downside of Arcane Disciple is that your alignment has to match the deity who grants the domain that you are looking to gain.

[Zaq]

Arcane Disciple does require you to have an appropriately high WIS to cast the spells you get from it, so if you're already feeling strapped for stat points, that can be a mark against it. Duskblades already need STR and INT to both be high, and like all frontliners, they benefit from CON and DEX, so adding WIS to the mix isn't always a trivial concern.

That said, it is probably the easiest way short of Sand Shaper to add utility to your spell list (and it's got an advantage over Sand Shaper in that it doesn't make you lose a CL). If you do go with it, you've got two primary routes to take: you can either go for a domain with lots of channelable spells (so you're not just always using Shocking Grasp and Vampiric Touch), or you can go for a domain with utility that you otherwise wouldn't have.

In either case, though, remember that you can only cast each spell you get from Arcane Disciple once per day, which is a pretty nasty limitation in some cases. That would make me personally lean towards domains with nice long hours/lvl buffs that you only really need once a day, though offhand I can't think of too many domains that specifically focus on those (though I'm sure you could find one if you tried hard enough).